Happy summer, friends! We’re in the midst of our June Creative Adventure over at the Creative Carte Blanche blog, and this month’s hostess, Susan Mostek, challenged us (and you!) to share a piece for the theme “Winged Things.”

I’ve always been drawn to origami cranes, but have only vaguely understood the meaning behind them. Then, my beloved mom got sick, and when Dad and I took her to treatment I noticed a basket of paper cranes, folded by local school children as a gift for the patients. Curious, I did a little research and found this quick read from National Geographic. Turns out, the origami crane’s legend as a symbol of hope and healing began with a young victim of the Hiroshima bombing named Sadako Sasaki.

Much like tying knots in a prayer quilt, the act of folding a crane while focusing loving thoughts is believed to be healing for the spirit. Young Sadako folded 1,000 of them during her short life, and her legacy has inspired many others to view this simple craft as a force for good in the world.

With so much uncertainty surrounding us, I think we could all use a few paper cranes in our lives. 🙂

Wings of Hope

Step 1: Fold an origami crane. I used an 8″ square piece of lavender paper from an inexpensive package of origami paper from the craft store. If you haven’t folded a paper crane before, click here for a great video tutorial.

Step 3: Isn’t this a cool pattern? I love the soft green shade, too. Set this piece aside for now.

Step 4. My friend May Flaum has a beautiful line of embellishments called “28 Lilac Lane,” which includes color-coordinated collections of buttons, pearls, beads, and sequins. I’m using her “On Lilac” set here, along with some pretty teal samples she was kind enough to give me.

Step 5: Thread some pretty twine through a favorite button and tie it in a knot. Repeat with four other pretty buttons.

Step 14: Cut a piece of white cardstock to 12″ x 8″ and fold it in half to make a card that’s 6″ wide by 8″ tall. Using the Broken Tile stamp from Seth Apter’s Faded Fragments set and Jet Black Archival Ink, randomly stamp the pattern around the perimeter of the card.

I love your rainbow of colour in the flowers Linda and the lavender crane is all the more beautiful because of the meaning behind it. I am bookmarking the link as I would love to make some of these…. Hugs, Anne xx